ITV continued to see falling advertising revenues in its third quarter as companies continued the cut back on spending, although it said it expects that to rebound in the current quarter.

The commercial TV giant, which is behind shows like The X Factor and period drama Victoria, posted a 4 per cent decline in net advertising revenues in the three months to the end of September.

That means a 7 per cent fall in the nine months, better than the 8 per cent decline in the first half. The group also said it expected ad revenues to rise 1 per cent in the last three months of the year, which would see the group outperform the wider market.

Sir Peter Bazalgette, ITV's executive chairman said strong growth at its production arm and other divisions 'largely offset' the decline in ad revenues.

'This is clear evidence of the benefit of rebalancing the business and generating new revenue streams, Bazalgette said.

'We are currently seeing a return to TV advertising from some of the FMCGs (fast moving consumer goods) and grocers although wider corporate confidence in the UK continues to be impacted by political and economic uncertainty.'

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ITV, which is also home to shows like I'm a Celebrity and Coronation Street, is seeking to reduce its reliance on falling advertising revenues, which however still make up about 45 per cent of its turnover.

Despite the slowdown in ad revenues decline, investors did not react well to the trading update, with shares in the FTSE 100 listed company falling 3.3 per cent to 147.59p in morning trading.

ITV's total revenues rose 1 per cent to £2.5billion in the nine months to the end of September, although after stripping out some inter-divisional deals, revenues fell 1 per cent.

ITV Studios, the group's production arm, saw revenues rise 9 per cent to £1billion, offsetting weakness in broadcast and online, where revenues fell 4 per cent.

It comes as the group expects the arrival of new chief executive Carol McCall from easyJet in January.